Welcome to our Community of Mindful Living
Practicing the Art of Mindful Living in Community
We come together to practice mindfulness in order to take care of ourselves, nourish happiness, and contribute to building a healthire and more compassionate society.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS MEDITATION?
Mindfulness is the ability to be present without any judgment. The breath is a powerful tool that helps us become present. Simply by noticing how our breath feels in our body or even counting our inhales and exhales, we are present! When our thoughts wander away from our breath – which is completely normal – we gently bring our thoughts back to our breath. At that moment when you notice your mind has wandered, you are also being present. This is the practice of mindfulness. When we sit, or lie down, and spend any period of time – 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 20 minutes - focusing on our breath, this is mindfulness meditation.
When practiced often, the benefits of mindfulness meditation include creating the space and freedom we need in order to choose how we respond to the events in our daily lives. We practice to strengthen our ability to be present when we are in a safe and calm environment, which makes a difference in reducing levels of stress and anxiety. Then we really start to cultivate a life of well-being and understand our unconscious motivations when we face difficult times or difficult people. Rather than immediately going to a place of fight or flight, we use our mindfulness practice and remain present, which allows us to manage the stress much more effectively.
Deep River Sangha practices in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Plum Village) and is committed to offering mindfulness meditation practices that are open to all. We created this Sangha – which is simply a group of people who wish to practice together as a community – to give people a venue where they can practice in a safe and comfortable environment among like-minded people. It is especially designed to be easy, gentle and relaxing. We welcome you to come and give it a try.
Our Practices
We offer two weekly practices which can be attended in person or via Zoom:
Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. (Unitarian-Universalist Church of Greensboro).
Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. (New Garden Friends Meeting).
On the last Sunday and Wednesday of each month our practice includes a recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.
What to Bring:
We have meditation cushions and chairs available. If you have a cushion or bench, feel free to bring it. There is no fee to attend — however if you would like to financially support the Sangha, there is a Dana box (Dana is the Sanskrit name for generosity) available for donations. We remove our shoes before entering the “meditation hall” (unless you have a medical condition requiring that shoes be worn). Some people like to bring a blanket to feel comfortable if the air conditioning is strong in the summer or the heat is weak in the winter.
COVID-19 Safety: We follow the local and national guidelines in effect at the time of practice, under which at present, masks are optional.
What to Expect:
Our practices are facilitated by experienced practitioners. At most practices, the first hour includes two periods of sitting meditation, which may either be guided or silent, and one period of walking meditation, with each session lasting about 20 minutes. Each practice includes an opportunity for mindful sharing.
If you wish to see what it’s all about, we offer a short phone orientation before your first practice so you know what to expect, and to answer questions. To get started please send an email to us at info@DeepRiverSangha.groups.io.
If you are interested in our caring for the earth, please check out this Earth Peace Treaty from the Plum Village tradition. We are invited to consider steps we might take to deepen our connection to the Earth and can serve to encourage our practice and remind us of our aspirations. Please carry your chosen commitments with you as a reminder.
Sangha Practicalities
We openly and warmly welcome people curious about and/or wanting to practice mindfulness in the Plum Village tradition.
This place of refuge and healing. Wherever you come from, however you look or identify, whomever you love, all are welcome here.
Come just as you are, who you are, how you are. We are invited to wear comfortable loose-fitting clothing for periods of sitting and walking meditation.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of your level of experience with meditation, if any.
When joining by Zoom, kindly adjust your camera to be at eye level, if possible, focused on your head and shoulders. Please keep your microphone muted at all times, except when you are speaking during Dharma Sharing.
Before entering the meditation hall, we are invited to remove our shoes and leave them outside the door. We are invited to pause, notice what we are bringing with ourselves that day -- literally and figuratively -- and what we would like to leave outside in the hallway. This is an opportunity to take a moment for centering before entering. Please turn off your cell phones.
If you enter the meditation space when people are setting up, your calm assistance would be appreciated. If assistance is not needed, please select a place to sit and silently prepare yourself for meditation.
If the meditation is underway, please walk to an available place with quiet mindfulness and settle yourself onto your cushion or chair with as little noise as possible.
To maintain a safe and secure setting, we lock outside doors when meditation begins. If you arrive after the doors are locked, please wait until the second period of practice begins, approximately 25 minutes after we begin, at which time we will check whether anyone is waiting.
The sound of the bell is often called “the voice of the Buddha” and encourages us to return to our true home. During our practices, when we hear the sound of the bell, whether walking, talking, seated, or lost in thought, we are invited to stop by returning to awareness of our in and out breath.
Beloved Community Circles are a close-knit, decentralized network of people in many countries working towards climate and racial justice in our communities, grounded in nonviolence, emotional healing, spiritual practice, and mindful action. Click here to read about the Greensboro Beloved Community Circle.
We celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Sangha's first practice, held on July 12, 1999 at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Greensboro. Happy Continuation Day, dear Sangha!!!
It is appropriate on this occasion to reflect upon our good fortune in belonging to such a stable community of practice, and to express our gratitude to Thay, the Plum Village monastics, and our fellow Sangha members, for their guidance and support along this path.
Five years ago, we set aside some time during one of our practices to observe our Sangha's 20th anniversary. At that time I had the opportunity to share some of my recollections about our Sangha's history. For newer Sangha members, or anyone else interested in the origin and evolution of our wonderful practice community, a recording of that talk is available here, and the July 1999 church announcement mentioned in the recording is available here.
On October 6, 2010 Deep River Sangha opened a second weekly practice on Wednesday evenings at New Garden Friends Meeting.